The present invention relates to a durable, compact, collapsible and articulated apparatus which permits multiple pages of stereographic visual images to be arranged and reviewed sequentially in conjunction with multiple pages of textual information in a manner similar and related to a book.
Stereoscopic optical viewers are well-known. A stereoscope is an optical instrument having two lenses and designed to view stereographic images so that an observer sees a 3-D image through the stereoscope. Recent developments in computer imaging and high resolution digital printing have greatly improved the ability to provide sophisticated graphics at a relatively inexpensive price.
The present invention is designed to take advantage of the high-tech synthesizing power of computer imaging as well as high resolution digital printing to provide an affordable, accessible stereographic book that is capable of communicating complex three-dimensional visual concepts which are accompanied and augmented with textual information. Because of its ability to store and convey both stereographic imagery and readable text, the present invention can be utilized extensively for educational and entertainment purposes. In particular, the present invention is useful for visual novels and children's books, including reading primers, and also as an affordable, take-home visualization tool and study aid in the fields of chemistry, molecular biology, medicine, architecture, artistic sculpture, and other areas which benefit from seeing and understanding complex three-dimensional imagery.
The stereographic book of the present invention includes 3-D stereo visual images printed on a plurality of pages, a pivotal axis for said pages, and an optical viewer including two optical lenses or other type lens system. For the purposes of this application, the term "optical viewer" refers to a device, which by its spacial shape and ergonomic design, fits the human face as to enable the individual to look through an optical lens system and see imagery. The optical viewer is spacially oriented relative to the pages by means of a pivotal axis so that the optical viewer is optically aligned for viewing by the reader of the said 3-D stereo visual images. Readable text is printed on an opposite side of each of the plurality of pages from the 3-D stereo visual images and thus co-exists in a sequential manner with the 3-D stereo visual imagery. A durable plastic case is capable of opening and snapping shut by flexible lip tabs integrated into and with its spacial shape and design.
The plastic case provides protection for the optical viewer and the pages contained within the case. The plastic case enables the optical viewer and the pages stored within the case to be deployed and redeployed in an efficient, durable, reusable and compact manner. The plastic case includes an integral crease hinged pivotal axis for the optical viewer. The optical viewer, by the integrated means of its spacial shape and ergonomic design, is merged with and formed in one piece with the plastic case. Two clear plastic optical lens elements snap into the optical viewer body formed integrally with the plastic case. The printed pages are secured into the plastic case in spacial and optical alignment with the optical viewer using binder rings or other suitable fasteners that permit pivotal movement of said pages along a fixed axis of rotation.
Stereographic visual images typically include two separate, planar or two dimensional photographic, graphic, or computer generated images printed upon a flat page. The two images are spacially arranged with a focal center positioned about 2.5 inches apart. This is the average distance between the focal centers of the human eyes. When the two separate, flat, printed images are viewed with an optical viewer having two lenses and with the appropriate optical and focal properties, each eye sees a single corresponding image intended for it. The brain fuses these said images into a true three dimensional image, creating a spacial effect similar to that experienced by normal visual spacial perception in a spacial environment.
The spacial orientations, optical relationships and alignments, and pivotal axis alignments of the present invention enable the compact and durable coexistence of a plurality of printed stereographic visual images and substantial bodies of readable text, printed and oriented on the opposite sides of the stereographic visual image pages. The spacial orientations, optical relationships and alignments and pivotal axis alignments of these said devices enables the printed and readable text to be arranged sequentially in an alternative order with the stereographic visual images, thus enabling the present invention to function in a durable, reusable, and compact format which conveys three dimensional visual images and readable text in a manner similar to a book.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a stereographic book includes a base having a first portion and a second portion. The stereographic book also includes an optical viewer pivotably coupled to the first portion of the base about a first pivot axis. The stereographic book further includes a page including a first surface having an image thereon. The page is pivotably coupled to the second portion of the base about a second pivot axis spaced apart from the first pivot axis by a predetermined distance. Therefore, a user can pivot the page relative to the base portion and view the image through lenses of the optical viewer.
According to another aspect of the invention, the optical viewer includes a lens system having a predetermined focal length substantially equal to the predetermined distance between the first pivot axis and the second pivot axis. Therefore, the image on the first surface of the page can be easily focused by a user by simply pivoting the optical viewer as the image is viewed through the lens system of the optical viewer.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a cover is pivotably coupled to the base. The cover is movable between an open position and a closed position. In its closed position, the cover engages the base to enclose and protect the pages and the optical viewer. The base is formed to include a flange extending around a top perimeter of the base, and the cover is formed to include at least one locking tab for engaging the flange to retain the cover in its closed position.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, the optical viewer includes first and second contoured sections configured to permit a user to pivot the optical viewer relative to the base. The optical viewer is formed to include a pair of outwardly extending ribs for protecting the lenses. The optical viewer is also formed to include a pair of indentions to permit the user to pivot the optical viewer relative to the base from a storage position substantially parallel to the base to an upright viewing position. In addition, the optical viewer is formed to include a slot for receiving a user's nose therethrough to facilitate viewing of the image through the lenses of the optical viewer.
According to a further aspect of the invention, the stereographic book includes a case including a bottom shell portion having a bottom surface, a front side wall, and a rear side wall. The case also includes a top shell pivotably coupled to the bottom shell adjacent the rear side wall of the bottom shell. The top shell is pivotable between a closed position and an open position. The top shell engages the bottom shell when the top shell is in its closed position to provide an enclosed region between the top and bottom shells.
The stereographic book also includes an optical viewer pivotably coupled to the bottom shell adjacent the front side wall. The optical viewer includes a lens system having a predetermined focal length. The optical viewer is pivotable between a storage position aligned substantially parallel to the bottom surface of the bottom shell and an upright viewing position.
The stereographic book further includes a plurality of pages. Each page includes a first surface having stereographic imagery printed thereon and a second surface having textual information printed thereon.
The stereographic book still further includes means for pivotably coupling the plurality of pages to the bottom shell adjacent the rear side wall of the bottom shell spaced apart from the optical viewer by a predetermined distance substantially equal to the predetermined focal length of the lens system. Each of the plurality of pages is pivotable relative to the bottom shell portion between an upright viewing position and a second reading position.
In the upright viewing position, the first surface of the page is aligned to face the lens system of the optical viewer so that a user can view the images through the lens system of the optical viewer to visualize a three dimensional image. In the second reading position, the pages are aligned substantially parallel to the bottom surface of the bottom shell and nested within the bottom shell.
The top shell of the case is pivotable relative to the bottom shell to its closed position to enclose and protect the plurality of pages and the optical viewer in the enclosed region between the top and bottom shells when the plurality of pages are in the second reading position and when the optical viewer is in its nested storage position.
The bottom shell includes a flange formed around a top perimeter of the bottom shell. The top shell includes an outer lip and locking tabs formed on the outer lip for engaging the flange of the bottom shell when the top shell is in its closed position to secure the plastic case in its closed position. The optical viewer includes left and right front frame sections positioned over the lenses to frame the left and right images, respectively.
Additional objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.